Pumpkin Gingersnap Cookies
These soft and chewy pumpkin gingersnap cookies are such a treat! With a spiced pumpkin base and the addition of candied ginger pieces.
About these pumpkin ginger cookies
- Easy to make. The dough is easily made and done by hand.
- These pumpkin cookies use brown butter. Brown butter is a guaranteed way to amplify your cookie flavor. Check out my other brown butter recipes!
- No chill time needed. You need about 10 minutes to let the brown butter cool down, but the dough needs no chilling.
- Chewy cookies. Thanks to the melted, nutty brown butter and pumpkin puree, these cookies are perfectly chewy with a lovely soft texture.
Ingredients
For the amounts needed for these chewy pumpkin gingersnap cookies, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom. Here is a rundown of what you will need:
- Butter – You can use salted or unsalted butter in this recipe. Halve the salt in the rest of the recipe if using salted butter. Simmer the butter until browned and toasty.
- Soft brown sugar – Brown sugar helps keep the cookie chewy and moist and adds molasses flavor. The darker the brown sugar, the more molasses.
- Pumpkin puree – I use Libby’s pure canned pumpkin, but you can also make your own puree. Don’t use pumpkin pie filling. The pumpkin puree will first be blotted with a paper towel or kitchen towel to remove excess moisture.
- Large egg yolk – Just the yolk, so as not to bring too much extra moisture to the cookie (there will still be moisture in the pumpkin, even after blotting it.)
- Vanilla paste – or good quality vanilla extract.
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Pumpkin pie spice and ground ginger – If you don’t have pumpkin spice, you can make your own spice mix!
- Candied ginger / crystalized ginger – This adds these little bursts of zingy ginger flavor.
- Salt
- Granulated sugar for rolling the cookie balls in.
Method
Step 1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) regular oven. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Step 2. Let the butter melt in a medium saucepan. Once melted, cook for around 3-4 minutes, stirring regularly until the milk solids have caramelized and the butter smells nutty. Pour the hot butter into a large bowl and let it cool down for 10 minutes.
Step 3. Spoon your pumpkin puree onto a plate. Place a layer of paper towel over the top. Press down gently to absorb excess moisture.
Repeat this to remove as much excess liquid as possible. The finished puree should be dryer and thicker, like play dough.
Step 4. Whisk together the flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl and set aside.
Step 5. To the cooled butter, add brown sugar, egg, pumpkin and vanilla and whisk until smooth and glossy.
Step 7. Finely chop the candied ginger.
Step 6. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold into a thick dough. Add in the candied ginger.
Step 8. Use a cookie scoop to Roll tablespoon-sized balls of dough.
Roll each cookie dough ball into a bowl of granulated sugar, coating all sides.
Step 9. Place the cookies, spaced out on the prepared baking sheet. Gently press down the tops of the cookies a bit to lightly flatten them.
Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 10-11 minutes until they have puffed up and the edges are golden brown.
The cookies will still be very soft. Don’t overbake them, otherwise, they will become cakey. Let the baked cookies cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool to room temperature.
FAQS
Yes, you can use fresh pumpkin. Ensure it’s cooked, pureed, and well-drained to match the consistency of canned pumpkin puree.
Store them in an airtight container at room temperature. They should last for about a week. For longer storage, you can refrigerate them for up to 3 weeks or freeze for up to 3 months.
You can substitute the all-purpose flour with a gluten-free flour blend and ensure the baking powder and spice mixes are gluten-free.
Increasing the amount of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves can boost the pumpkin flavor, but be mindful not to overload it as spices can be overpowering.
Yup! Roll the dough into balls and freeze them on a baking sheet before transferring them to a freezer-friendly container. You can bake them directly from frozen, just add a couple of extra minutes to the baking time.
This can happen if there is too much moisture left in the pumpkin or too much flour added. To make your cookies less puffy, you can bang the pan on the counter a few times once you remove them from the oven. This will deflate them a bit. Alternatively, gently press them down a bit once baked.
Related recipes
Did you enjoy this pumpkin cookie recipe? You might like these recipes too!
Pumpkin Gingersnap Cookies
Ingredients
- 170 g butter
- 200 g soft brown sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 80 g pure pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 205 g all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin spice
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 2-3 Tablespoons crystallised ginger
Rolling
- 100 grams granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) regular oven. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Let the butter melt in a medium saucepan. Once melted, cook for around 3-4 minutes, stirring regularly until the milk solids have caramelized and the butter smells nutty.
- Pour the hot butter into a large bowl and let it cool down for 10 minutes.
- Spoon your pumpkin puree onto a plate. Place a layer of paper towel over the top. Press down gently to absorb excess moisture. Repeat this to remove as much excess liquid as possible. The finished puree should be dryer and thicker, like play dough.
- Whisk together the flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl and set aside.
- To the cooled butter, add brown sugar, egg, vanilla and pumpkin and whisk until smooth and glossy.
- Add the dry and wet ingredients to fold into a thick dough.
- Finely chop the candied ginger. Add this to the dough and stir until just combined.
- Use a cookie scoop to roll tablespoon-sized balls of dough. Roll each cookie dough ball into a bowl of granulated sugar, coating all sides.
- Place the cookies spaced out on the prepared baking sheet. Gently press down the tops of the cookies a bit to lightly flatten them.
- Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 10-11 minutes until they have puffed up and the edges are golden brown. The cookies will still be very soft. Don't overbake them, otherwise, they will become cakey.
- Let the baked cookies cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool to room temperature.
